I am so glad I come across this website. 9 days after my baby was born I suffered from eclampsia which caused me to have 2 seizures, the 2nd almost killing me. Doctors actually told me I should be dead.It was the most traumatic thing I have ever had to experience and being away from my newborn baby for a week and a half was heart breaking. 4 months later and I have come to realize that I have been suffering with pnd and have just been to the doctor today.She prescribed lexapro to me but I am really scared about being on anti depressants and am worried about having to take a pill to be happy. Would love to hear other peoples experiences on lexapro to help get my head around it

I am so glad I come across this website. 9 days after my baby was born I suffered from eclampsia which caused me to have 2 seizures, the 2nd almost killing me. Doctors actually told me I should be dead.It was the most traumatic thing I have ever had to experience and being away from my newborn baby for a week and a half was heart breaking. 4 months later and I have come to realize that I have been suffering with pnd and have just been to the doctor today.She prescribed lexapro to me but I am really scared about being on anti depressants and am worried about having to take a pill to be happy. Would love to hear other peoples experiences on lexapro to help get my head around it

I'm glad you're feeling better and the meds are working, I suffered PPD after I had DD. I think it had alot to do with DH leaving to finish his deployment (he was on RR) when DD was barely 2 weeks old. But, they gave me Zoloft. I was scared at first feeling like I too let my baby down, but it has been great. I rescently stopped taking it. I do wish you all the luck!

Michael Allen b April 11 1994 @42wks No health problems

Ivy Rose b July 7 2004,@ 37wks1d due to PE, PIH, HELLPS

Current EDD Nov 29, 2005 w/ Little Jack

I'm glad you're feeling better and the meds are working, I suffered PPD after I had DD. I think it had alot to do with DH leaving to finish his deployment (he was on RR) when DD was barely 2 weeks old. But, they gave me Zoloft. I was scared at first feeling like I too let my baby down, but it has been great. I rescently stopped taking it. I do wish you all the luck!

Thanks for the reply, Sandy. I had been sitting on the 'scrip for a couple of weeks going back and forth in my mind, and I think it just comes down to the fact I am more than ready for more smiles and water balloon fights..... I am sure once it kicks in I'll feel fewer pangs of guilt/anxiety/depression -- those nasty kissing cousins.

Thanks for the reply, Sandy. I had been sitting on the 'scrip for a couple of weeks going back and forth in my mind, and I think it just comes down to the fact I am more than ready for more smiles and water balloon fights..... I am sure once it kicks in I'll feel fewer pangs of guilt/anxiety/depression -- those nasty kissing cousins.

Hi,
I started taking Zoloft about 2 weeks ago and I am b'feeding. I don't know if you've seen any of my posts from my pregnancies here, but I've been pretty anal about what meds and other supplements could do to my developing baby...

Even so, I can't believe I'm taking Zoloft and don't have any pangs of guilt or concern about what it could be doing through the breastmilk. :)

I have a wonderful lactation consultant who I ran this by and she said that very, very little of the Zoloft shows up in b'milk. Furthermore, my baby has not had any behavioral changes so far (I'd welcome a little more sleepy, though!), and because the Zoloft is so helpful for helping me feel like my old self, it is certainly the right choice for me.

Granted, you and I are not the same person with the same medical history and make-up...I say, talk with your pediatrician and/or lactation consultant if you have one, about your concerns.

I hope you can feel comfortable with whatever works for you at some point.

~Sandy

Lauren: c-section at 35 wks/1 day June '03 due to superimposed severe PE/class III HELLP Syndrome
Amber: repeat c-section at 37 weeks/4 days March '05 due to high blood pressure

Hi,
I started taking Zoloft about 2 weeks ago and I am b'feeding. I don't know if you've seen any of my posts from my pregnancies here, but I've been pretty anal about what meds and other supplements could do to my developing baby...

Even so, I can't believe I'm taking Zoloft and don't have any pangs of guilt or concern about what it could be doing through the breastmilk. :)

I have a wonderful lactation consultant who I ran this by and she said that very, very little of the Zoloft shows up in b'milk. Furthermore, my baby has not had any behavioral changes so far (I'd welcome a little more sleepy, though!), and because the Zoloft is so helpful for helping me feel like my old self, it is certainly the right choice for me.

Granted, you and I are not the same person with the same medical history and make-up...I say, talk with your pediatrician and/or lactation consultant if you have one, about your concerns.

I hope you can feel comfortable with whatever works for you at some point.

~Sandy

Lauren: c-section at 35 wks/1 day June '03 due to superimposed severe PE/class III HELLP Syndrome
Amber: repeat c-section at 37 weeks/4 days March '05 due to high blood pressure

Hi you guys,
I guess I'm just looking for reassurance -- is anybody b-feeding and on antidepressants? I just started taking zoloft and my dr. obviously is okay with it, research says it's "okay" but I still am having pangs of guilt. Any experience with this? Symptoms I need to watch out for with the baby? I hope it helps me soon, but not if she's going to be sleepy, constipated, whatever....

Hi you guys,
I guess I'm just looking for reassurance -- is anybody b-feeding and on antidepressants? I just started taking zoloft and my dr. obviously is okay with it, research says it's "okay" but I still am having pangs of guilt. Any experience with this? Symptoms I need to watch out for with the baby? I hope it helps me soon, but not if she's going to be sleepy, constipated, whatever....

Hi Faith. I suffered a severe ppd/ptsd a few years back. I too was afraid to take a pill... but it was either that or ECT. My not treating the ppd/ptsd adequatly led to more severe panic, and temporary ocd. I tried severel meds before I found a combo that worked which was zoloft and wellbutrin. Wellbitrin is one of the ones w/ the seizure disclaimer thing. And well I have never had a seizure, I do have a family hx ( a brother and sister) so I was a tiny bit at risk. The risk though was worth what the wellbutrin did to help. I only needed to be on meds for about a year and a half. When I decided to get pg this time around w/ Ava, I opted to take zoloft during the pg to head off any ppd and it seemed to have worked well. Four weeks post pardum I was able to go off the zoloft and have been med free since and feel fine. I think though that everyone is different. Sometimes a ppd can trigger other depression if you are at risk. SOme need to take meds longer. Some do well w/ just therapy alone. For me, I think taking preventive measure has really helped.
I think your question about the preeclamtic seizure is a good one. I can remember when I was preg and had the hyper reflexes they said I was at increased risk for eclamptic seizres.... so when Ava was said to have brisk reflexes, I asked if her risk of seizures was even more ( being that she is already at risk from the CP), the neuro explained that it was a little different. Anyway... I wonder if those that have had eclamptic seizures, in general have a lower seizure threshold.
Ava has a lower seizure threshold because of cp and because of my family history. So her ped is a little more cautious when it comes to fevers, and meds that increase the risk of seizures.
I wonder if you can ask a neuro about that.

Jen 33
DH Bob 36
DD Ava 4/04

http://jbeck3.photosite.com/

Hi Faith. I suffered a severe ppd/ptsd a few years back. I too was afraid to take a pill... but it was either that or ECT. My not treating the ppd/ptsd adequatly led to more severe panic, and temporary ocd. I tried severel meds before I found a combo that worked which was zoloft and wellbutrin. Wellbitrin is one of the ones w/ the seizure disclaimer thing. And well I have never had a seizure, I do have a family hx ( a brother and sister) so I was a tiny bit at risk. The risk though was worth what the wellbutrin did to help. I only needed to be on meds for about a year and a half. When I decided to get pg this time around w/ Ava, I opted to take zoloft during the pg to head off any ppd and it seemed to have worked well. Four weeks post pardum I was able to go off the zoloft and have been med free since and feel fine. I think though that everyone is different. Sometimes a ppd can trigger other depression if you are at risk. SOme need to take meds longer. Some do well w/ just therapy alone. For me, I think taking preventive measure has really helped.
I think your question about the preeclamtic seizure is a good one. I can remember when I was preg and had the hyper reflexes they said I was at increased risk for eclamptic seizres.... so when Ava was said to have brisk reflexes, I asked if her risk of seizures was even more ( being that she is already at risk from the CP), the neuro explained that it was a little different. Anyway... I wonder if those that have had eclamptic seizures, in general have a lower seizure threshold.
Ava has a lower seizure threshold because of cp and because of my family history. So her ped is a little more cautious when it comes to fevers, and meds that increase the risk of seizures.
I wonder if you can ask a neuro about that.

Dawn, your water balloon story made me smile! I was just thinking this morning how absolutely wonderful I feel...I know this is making me a better mother, wife & friend. I am so happy that I am finally feeling happy. I call my zoloft my happy pills....it's so nice to not be looking over my sholder all the time thinking about the seizure I had months ago. A friend recently asked me about the seizure and it was the first time I was ever able to tell the story without breaking down. It felt good. Of course I know these pills are not going to make all my fears and troubles go away, but at least they are helping me put them all in perspctive---and I'm able to see the rainbow after the storm. [:D][:D]

Kathleen
Mommy to Matthew born at 37 1/2 weeks. Postpartum Eclamptic

Dawn, your water balloon story made me smile! I was just thinking this morning how absolutely wonderful I feel...I know this is making me a better mother, wife & friend. I am so happy that I am finally feeling happy. I call my zoloft my happy pills....it's so nice to not be looking over my sholder all the time thinking about the seizure I had months ago. A friend recently asked me about the seizure and it was the first time I was ever able to tell the story without breaking down. It felt good. Of course I know these pills are not going to make all my fears and troubles go away, but at least they are helping me put them all in perspctive---and I'm able to see the rainbow after the storm. [:D][:D]

I started on Lexapro at 6 weeks post partum and wow! I feel like I did before my first pg. Hubby and I had a water balloon fight last night while playing outside with our 3 year old. I was laughing and running around with them and I stopped and thought "I can't remember the last time I laughed and played like this." I was so afraid to ask for meds, like I was a failure or something. I am so glad I did. I have been on them for about two months and am also concerned that this feeling will go away if I stop them. I feel normal now and never want to feel like I was before, so I'll just keep taking them as long as they are working and doc feels ok with it. I know there are lots of women in our shoes- I just wish more of us felt ok to talk about this stuff with each other.

I started on Lexapro at 6 weeks post partum and wow! I feel like I did before my first pg. Hubby and I had a water balloon fight last night while playing outside with our 3 year old. I was laughing and running around with them and I stopped and thought "I can't remember the last time I laughed and played like this." I was so afraid to ask for meds, like I was a failure or something. I am so glad I did. I have been on them for about two months and am also concerned that this feeling will go away if I stop them. I feel normal now and never want to feel like I was before, so I'll just keep taking them as long as they are working and doc feels ok with it. I know there are lots of women in our shoes- I just wish more of us felt ok to talk about this stuff with each other.